Collaboration Over Competition: Why We Embrace the Support Crew Ecosystem
A glimpse from a short film we produced this past fall. It was a first time collaboration with Borred to Death Films and their support crew.
Letting Your Guard Down Before Opening Your Arms Up
In an industry that is as competitive as digital media production, it’s easy to get caught up in the frenzy and shut out other crews when it comes to collaborating on a project. Whether it’s bitterness over losing out on a competing bid, different creative approaches or a simple refusal to take a reduction in role, there are plenty of reasons as to why some companies look to keep all of their work exclusively in-house. Some crews just like to walk around like the cool kids with the neat toys, talking about how awesome it is to be a Jet and how lame it is to be a Shark. (Yes, I did see the new West Side Story and I’m sure that’s how that metaphor made its way here.) As you’ll find when vetting your clients, sometimes two companies just don’t fit as collaborators and the same could be said for working with other production companies.
However, we have found that opening your company up to provide (or request) support on co-producing projects with other film crews can yield benefits beyond filling out your project’s personnel and equipment needs. With every new collaboration, client or co-producer alike, comes the opportunity to learn and possibly grow from the experience. Here are three common reasons we have found it to be beneficial in collaborating with other production companies, both from providing and utilizing the additional support.
From filming at Berlin Raceway to working with the fantastic crew at Velocity Cow again, this co-production from the past summer was a highlight of 2021 at Allied.
Observing How the Other Team Functions
Once you’ve let that big guard down and have signed on to collaborate with another crew, it’s worth it to take a moment and see how they operate. From setting up equipment to position roles and responsibilities, every crew operates a little bit differently and those subtle differences offer a load of learning opportunities. You can learn new creative solutions to problems you may not have run into in the past but should it happen to you on a future project, you got that solution waiting in your back pocket. You could pick up on a new technique or maybe learn a cool new life hack that makes you more efficient on set. This kind of learning dynamic can easily flow the other way as the chances to offer some advice of your own frequently occur.
Even if there are few differences in the technical operations of your respective crews, observe how the other team handles working with their subjects and crew members. Do they provide detailed direction or leave it open for the subject to interpret? How do they facilitate communications amongst the crew? What if there’s a mishap during the take? Do they immediately call “cut” or do they let the take finish? You might not take anything away from these observations in how you operate on your projects but at minimum, it will help make you a better collaborator when working with this crew (and others) in the future.
Working with New Gear and New Clients
One of our favorite aspects of co-producing on projects is the chance to work with new gear and new people. Most times the different gear will be something new to you but there are occasions where you get to be nostalgic and reunite with some gear from your past (hopefully they invoke good memories). We know that our gear list is a constantly evolving document so we see these projects as a “free trial” when we may be considering adding that piece of equipment to our arsenal.
The opportunity to work with new clients on co-productions also provides you value as well, you can either get a glimpse of unfamiliar territory on these projects or utilize your experience when working with clients similar to your own. This also adds to the learning element as you get to hear the story of your project and the people who make it what it is. Maybe you hear about a business that you didn’t even know existed (like the time I discovered what equine therapy was) or how a person came to find their purpose in this world. A fascination with storytelling got you on set in the first place so take every chance you get to hear a new story.
Aaron gets reacquainted with a GoPro (a camera we haven’t personally used for years) as we work with the team at Velocity Cow on a shoot for the Sam Bernstein Law Firm.
Building Your Network and Expanding Your Company’s Reach
As a company that has built and sustained itself on recurring clients, we at Allied can’t emphasize the importance of networking enough. Almost every one of our frequent collaborators established a relationship with us through a one-off engagement that just kept on growing and growing. It may sound like a sermon of common sense but showing up to these co-productions and doing diligent work can and will lead to more work in the future.
The special thing about leaving a positive impression on these projects is that the potential future work can come from the client and producing partner alike. This creates a unique opportunity to expand the reach of your business along with growing your network. Let’s say a client reaches out to you about a project that requires an approach you don’t feel confident enough to handle independently. Having that collaborator to call on in those situations is a valuable tool to utilize. Whether it’s looking for advice, requesting production support or even handing the project off to them completely, resourcing another crew shows your client that your focus is on meeting their needs and not making sure that your company gets all of the glory for completing the task.
In the end, opening up your company to co-production shows both your clients and collaborators a level of adaptability that isn’t commonly seen in our industry. Remember that your client is coming to you because their business has a need that they want you to help fulfill, a problem that they want you to help solve. By limiting your resources to tell these stories you limit your ability as a storyteller. I get it, when you’re a Jet, you’re a Jet all the way…but maybe try seeing how the Sharks run their gang every once in a while?